


When Fate Steps In

by giftofamber



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Soulmate AU, completely beardless I promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-03-16 09:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3482555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giftofamber/pseuds/giftofamber
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma Swan is perfectly happy being a single woman and mother.  Mary Margaret, however, worries that it is taking so long for Emma to find her soulmate.  Enter a well-intentioned fairy godmother, Fate, and suddenly Emma's world is turned upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Haven’t you always wanted to know who your soulmate is?” Mary Margaret pestered Emma for the hundredth time. Having grown up in the Enchanted Forest, she just couldn’t understand Emma’s lack of interest in finding _the one_. After all, Mary Margaret had met her Prince Charming when she was barely of age, but Emma…Emma was nearing thirty. She was going to give her daughter a little push, whether she wanted it or not.

“No. For the millionth time. I have Henry to think about. I can’t go gallivanting around on some quest to find my soulmate, and even if I could, I don’t want to. I’m happy being single,” Emma insisted. “The world doesn’t revolve around two people falling in love.”

As Emma said the word ‘love’, Nova materialized in the tiny loft. Her hair was intricately braided, and her wings sparkled, and she looked more like a fairy than Emma had ever seen her. Emma eyed the wand in her hand warily, unsure what to make of it.

With her eyes sparkling, Mary Margaret clapped her hands, “Emma, do you know what this means?”

“No?”

“You have a fairy godmother!” Mary Margaret burst out, unable to contain her excitement. “And dear, sweet, Nova will surely help you find your soulmate.”

“I have a fairy godmother?” Emma repeated, letting her mother’s words sink in. “Wait, Nova…I was just telling Mary Margaret that I’m happy being single…”

“And you don’t want to find your soulmate,” Nova continued, knowing her charge well. “Posh, everyone wants to find their soulmate, and yours, my dear, is closer than you think.”

“Really?” Emma said doubtfully. “Even if I thought you could identify my soulmate, the whole idea of a fairy telling me who to spend the rest of my life with makes my skin crawl.”

Used to disbelievers, Nova looked at her charge with kindness in her eyes, “You, Emma Swan, are looking for an equal. Someone who both challenges you and listens to you. Someone who is extremely loyal and will never abandon you in your time of need.  Someone who doesn’t expect you to be girly just to please them. And someone who loves children, seeing as how you have one.”

“You forgot the most important thing: someone who I choose. So much of my life has been dictated by fate, and I just don’t want my love life to be arranged by anyone but myself,” Emma insisted. Sometimes the antiquated ideas of Enchanted Forest-style romance just irked her.

“Ah, my dear, we always have a choice. Defying Fate, however, comes with great cost, and sometimes, we ourselves are not the ones to pay the price,” Nova warned. “One day I will sit with you and tell you the story of how a fairy defied fate and fell in love with a dwarf.”

Eyebrows raised, Emma inquired, “A fairy and a dwarf?”

“For now, I believe you should know who Fate has chosen, so that you can make a clear choice. If, my charge, you are truly displeased with your soulmate, we can petition the fairies to sever the connection,” Nova continued.

“You would do that?” Emma asked.

“Of course, I would. Your happiness is extremely important to me,” Nova gushed, putting a ring on Emma’s finger. She waved her wand, and the ring began to sparkle. “Now, this ring will begin to glow when you and your soulmate are alone. Don’t even try to take it off—it’s enchanted.”

Emma was naturally already trying to push the ring off her finger and failing miserably. Stupid fairies and their meddling. Two can play this game, she thought to herself. All she had to do was make sure she wasn’t alone with anyone besides Henry, and she wouldn’t have to worry about it….or so she thought.

* * *

 

As it happened, Fate wasn’t too fond of being ignored. A week had gone by, and Emma had begun to forget about the annoying ring stuck to her finger. She was sitting outside the mansion and honking the horn because Henry hadn’t appeared yet, and she had to take him to a Charming family dinner. Not that Regina wasn’t invited, but Regina in the same room as her parents usually generated World War III, and Emma playing peacemaker in the middle. She cursed and turned the car off, walking up the way and knocking on the door before putting her hands in their comfortable position in her back pockets.

Moments later, Regina, immaculately dressed as always, opened the door and motioned for her to enter, “Come in. Henry should be back any second. He had a group project he had to stay after school for, but I gave him a firm deadline of 4 o’clock. Would you like something to drink while you wait?”

To be fair, if anyone else in Storybrooke had offered Emma a drink, she likely would have said no, but she found her mouth forming the word ‘yes’ instead. Regina’s apple cider was literally fruit from the heavens, and if she were perfectly honest with herself, she did have a bit of a craving.

With Emma following, Regina moved to the kitchen and began pouring a glass of her famous apple cider. Regina asked, “How late do you think this dinner will last?”

Reaching for the glass of cider, Emma answered, “I believe we should be done in time to bring Henry back for bedtime….um, Regina, do I have something on my teeth? You keep looking at me funny.”

“Sherriff Swan, are you aware your ring is glowing? Magic isn’t something to be played with lightly,” Regina continued to stare at the ring, trying to detect the type of spell put on it.

Emma’s face paled, “I…uh…it’s glowing?”

“Yes, now let me see it, so I can identify the spell,” Regina took Emma’s hand in her own, placing the beverage down on the table. Glancing a little closer, she murmured, “This doesn’t have your magical signature.”

“Um, Regina, it’s ok…really,” Emma babbled, her fight or flight tendencies beginning to take effect.

Regina’s eyes narrowed, “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Um, ok. There’s really no easy way to say this, is there? See, Mary Margaret was pestering me again, and then Nova appeared…”

Regina prompted, “The fairy?”

“Yes, and gave me this whole speech about Fate and my soulmate, and I told her I didn’t want a soulmate—I wanted a choice,” Emma continued.

“Just cut to the chase already,” Regina said impatiently, tapping her foot.

“It would appear, you and I are…are….”

“Soulmates?”

Emma nodded fiercely, “Yes.”

Regina shook her head, “That’s impossible.”

“She said we could change it if we wanted. Petition the fairies,” Emma offered.

“Do you want to…change it?” Regina asked hesitantly.

“I don’t know. Do you?”

“I don’t know,” Regina answered. “My whole life, all I’ve heard about is True Love and Soulmates, and how I didn’t deserve any of that because it was my destiny to be evil.”

“You aren’t evil,” Emma insisted. “I know I’ve called you evil and a sociopath when I was angry, but I know you’re not. In the past 30 years, you could have killed my mother any number of times, but you didn’t. You just wanted what everyone wants—to be happy.”

“I couldn’t be happy there,” Regina said wistfully. “You wouldn’t have been happy there either. Being royalty isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

“I know that. I had to read about the Middle Ages in school,” Emma shudders. “That’s why I was so scared about having my soulmate ‘chosen’ for me by Fate. I didn’t want to feel like I was being sold off in exchange for cattle.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen. People fear me, you know,” Regina smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

Emma laughed, “I’m well aware. You are also the only one who doesn’t think my parents walk on water.”

At this moment, they both heard the door pushed open and little feet running toward them, “Mom! I’m so sorry I’m late! Hi, Emma!”

“It’s alright, Henry, your mom and I had a chance to talk,” Regina winked at Emma. “How would you like it if Emma joined us for dinner tomorrow?”

Henry thought for a moment and countered, “Can we have lasagna?”      

“I suppose,” Regina agreed, mentally going through her cupboard and whether she would have to shop for any ingredients.

“Yeah, Emma coming over would be awesome,” Henry grinned.

“You totally get that from your mother,” Regina smiled.

Emma looked up, “What?”

Regina grinned back, “This lackadaisical attitude that everything is wonderful provided there is food in your belly.”                

“You know what they say, the path to a woman’s heart is through her stomach,” Emma patted her own tummy affectionately.

“Hey, kid in the room,” Henry reminded them both. “Emma, we have to go. We’re going to be late.”

Emma took a deep breath, “Regina, would you like to join us?”

“I would, but I had a long day at work, and your mother’s cheeriness would get to me,” Regina admitted. “Have Henry back by bedtime, and be here tomorrow at 5 pm sharp.”

Surprised by how easily domestic the two of them sounded, Emma smirked, “Yes, dear.”

* * *

 

No sooner were they in Emma’s bug than Henry began hounding Emma over her ‘odd’ behavior, and Emma didn’t want to answer his questions because she really didn’t have the answers to his questions. Not yet.   The whole idea of having a soulmate and that soulmate being Regina was a little overwhelming. How would she explain to her mother that Fate had decided to pair her with her mother’s worst enemy? She should be outraged on her mother’s behalf, but she wasn’t. The weirdest part was that she was a little bit happy that her soulmate was Regina and not some random person with whom she had nothing in common and didn’t find attractive. Still, it was new, and neither of them had decided if they wanted to pursue a relationship or petition the fairies, and the last thing they needed was interference from ‘well meaning’ family members until they made their decision.


	2. Chapter 2

When Emma finally returned to the tiny loft after taking Henry back to the mansion, she threw her keys on the counter and moved to remove her boots.  It had been a long day, and she just wanted to go to sleep and shut her brain off.  Of course, that was when a burst of light signaled the reappearance of her fairy godmother.

Unable to contain her joy, Nova burst out excitedly, “So, what do you think of your soulmate?”

“Ugh, would you stop calling it that? Don’t people date in your world?” Emma pouted, “I’m not going to base my entire life around a glowy ring.”

Nova’s face fell, “You don’t like her?”

“I didn’t say that.  It’s just…there’s so much we don’t know about each other, and now she knows about this soulmate thing, and how will I know if she has feelings for me or just thinks she does because of this soulmates idea, and it’s just too much pressure,” Emma tried her best to give words to how she was feeling and the worries going through her head.

“When have you ever known her to do something because she thinks she should?” Nova countered.  “But if it will help set your mind at ease, I will show you a time before she knew you two were soulmates, so you can see for yourself.”

“How are you going to do that?” Emma asked incredulously.

Shaking her head, Nova sighed, “Fairy godmother? Hello? Just look into this mirror, and tell me what you see.”

Dutifully, Emma stared into the hand mirror.  After a few moments, her own reflection became cloudy and began to show her a vision of another time and place.  When the clouds disappeared, she saw Regina and Rumplestiltskin, and they seemed to be arguing.  She focused all her attention on trying to make out the words they were saying.

_“You made me into a monster.  I won’t let you do the same to Emma!” Regina shouted defiantly._

_“Why do you care so much, dearie?”_

_“Because I…because she’s Henry’s mother,” Regina finished lamely, not entirely sure herself why it mattered so much._

_Rumplestiltskin laughed maniacally, “You keep telling yourself that, dearie.”_

_“Why does it matter?  You don’t need her to turn dark when you just got three more evil henchwomen moving into town,” Regina tried a logical appeal even though reasoning with a madman was clearly impossible_

_“Ah, but none of them are the Savior.  Regina, think for a moment.  Think about what all of that power the Savior wields inside her could do if she turned to dark magic,” Rumplestiltskin explained._

_“That’s the difference between you and me.  You see her only as the Savior.   I see her as Emma and the woman I…” Regina stopped herself from finishing the sentence, knowing that her feelings would be used against her.  She knew better, but somehow, her emotions always seemed to get the better of her where Emma was concerned._

_Rumplestiltskin continued for her, “Love. Yes, I know, dearie, and while I am normally a huge fan of True Love and its raw power, you, dearie, will never act on your feelings, so I’m doing what every good gambler does—betting on a sure thing.”_

_“True Love?” Regina asked stunned.  Sure, she had strong, powerful feelings for Emma, but True Love?_

_“Deny it all you want, dearie.  When the Savior gives in to the darkness, I will have my happy ending,” Rumplestiltskin tittered with glee, dancing around in a circle._

The images began to swirl and grow dim until Emma’s own reflection was staring back at her once more.  She didn’t know how to react to what she had just seen.  Emma said softly, “She fought for me.”

Nova put her hand on Emma’s shoulder kindly, “That’s what people who care about each other do.”

“No one has ever fought for me before,” Emma continued.  “Everyone always left when things got difficult.  That’s why I had the ‘leave them before they leave me’ philosophy.”

Nova grinned at her, “If there is one thing I know about Regina Mills, she never gives up.  She doesn’t love easily, but when she does, it’s for good.”

“I kind of figured that.  If she is capable of being neighbors with her worst enemies for decades, she would never leave someone she cared about.  Henry was really lucky to have her,” Emma declared.  “But when I told her about the soulmates, True Love thing, she acted like she’d never heard of it before.”

“Regina believes that she will never have True Love.  She probably repressed that part of her conversation with Rumplestiltskin.”  Looking into Emma’s eyes, Nova continued, “I can show you one more scene tonight.  Are there any other questions you need answered?”

Emma thought for a moment.  She had so many questions.  What was Regina like as a child?  What did she want most out of life?  Why on earth was she interested in Emma?  She put all of those aside for the moment as she asked, “What made Regina become the Evil Queen?”

Nova gazed at her charge, “Are you sure you want to see that?  What you see may horrify you.”

“When I went back in time, I saw her as the Evil Queen.  She is still Regina to me.  Please, I just think this might help me understand her a bit better,” Emma was determined. 

Nova acquiesced, “Very well.  However, there was not one single event that led to the creation of the Evil Queen.  I will show you one of the key events tonight.”

At Nova’s nod, Emma searched the mirror for something beyond her reflection, and moments later, the image swirled, revealing Regina riding a horse.  She looks no older than 16, but she is definitely Regina.  As Regina rides, long vines protrude from the wildlife to stop her.  Emma can feel Regina’s feelings of helplessness.

_“Mother, why are you doing this?” Regina forces her voice to remain steady._

_Cora appears behind her, “Because you are making poor decisions, my dear.  You aren’t thinking clearly.”_

_“Mother, I don’t want to marry the King,” Regina insisted, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle._

_Cora laughed, “My dear, it’s too late.  I’ve already accepted on your behalf.  Kings don’t take kindly to rejection.”_

_Regina pleaded, “Mother, surely there is something you can do?”_

_“A simple barrier spell to prevent you from leaving and getting any more silly ideas.  I assure you it will not be as bad as you are making it out to be.  A few years of warming an old man’s bed in exchange for ruling a kingdom,” Cora attempted to pacify her daughter._

_However, for Regina, the mere thought of being intimate with the King sent feelings of revulsion through her gut.  She didn’t want power.  She wanted freedom.  She wanted love, just as everyone else did in the Enchanted Forest, except for her, the fairies never answered her wishes, so what good did fighting do?_

_Feeling hopeless, Regina closed her eyes and the vines put her back on the forest floor.  Perhaps her mother did know best and had her best interests at heart.  No, she definitely didn’t, Regina decided.  She was going to call on the only one who had ever been able to stand up to her mother: Rumplestiltskin._

“Regina looks so young,” Emma commented as the image faded once more.  “How could her mother just force her to marry someone she didn’t love?”

“It was a different time back then.  Remember, Cora had removed her heart, and that blinded her to her daughter’s suffering,” Nova explained.

Emma inquired, “Why didn’t the fairies help her?  You guys granted wishes all the time.  Why didn’t you save her?”

“The head fairy at the time believed that Regina was a lost cause.  As Cora’s daughter, Regina would grow up to be evil regardless of any interference from the fairies, and she felt our time would be better spent elsewhere,” Nova clarified.  “My personal belief is that the Dark One had made a deal with the head fairy in exchange for her disinterest.”

“So the only one that Regina could turn to was Rumplestiltskin,” Emma was finally beginning to understand.  Regina was desperate, and when people were desperate, they did things they normally would never consider.  In Emma’s case, that meant stealing watches, and in Regina’s, that meant making a deal with the Dark One.  In Regina’s place, she probably would have done the same thing.


End file.
